Mr. Speaker, carbon tax is coming. Mr. Speaker, the large emitters right now -- businesses don't have a special program under the federal system either. The federal government will decide where they want to put the money, how they want to put the money. Right now where we've seen them put their money is in electric vehicles, in heat pumps, which don't work in the Northwest Territories. So, Mr. Speaker, I'm not sure that that's necessarily the direction that we all want to go with. As I've said before, we have figured out what the fuel usages have been in the business sector and the private sector, added that into the cost of living offset for residents, so that businesses should realize that they can raise those costs and that they will be offset. We can't take away the signal on carbon tax. That's exactly what the federal government said we can't do. So what else can we do? Again, we're trying to target residents so that they have the spending power to go out and keep the economy churning, trying to ensure that the large emitters, who would be otherwise under the federal system, are able to adapt so that they can come. They can continue to operate here, provide to the Northwest Territories economy. But also, Mr. Speaker, in the last round of conversation, I believe, at the last public briefing, we said we would work with the communities if they want to share with us what they anticipate their actual costs to be. We've already gone to $55 million in contributions to communities with this current budget proposal. That's bringing us up to the $5 million gap that was in the mandate, and we will continue to work with them. So if we know what exactly it is that the communities say they are needing and spending, again, if we have that -- there's no slush fund. It's called the consolidated revenue fund. It is literally the dollars that pays everyone and everything in this building and everywhere else; it's not a slush fund. So bring us the actuals and we're happy to have that conversation. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Caroline Wawzonek on Question 1346-19(2): Carbon Taxation
In the Legislative Assembly on February 10th, 2023. See this statement in context.
Question 1346-19(2): Carbon Taxation
Oral Questions
February 10th, 2023
Page 5197
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